


Life in a War Time

by Spooteh (Pawfoot)



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Supernatural
Genre: F/M, Superwho, Year That Never Was
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-15
Updated: 2012-08-15
Packaged: 2017-11-12 05:45:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/487378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pawfoot/pseuds/Spooteh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Martha Jones needs a way to get across America. Sam Winchester has a car and a desperate need to feel useful.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Life in a War Time

**Author's Note:**

> Title from the Talking Heads song. Written for the Great Blind Sartha Exchange on tumblr for i-ain’t-even-bovvered’s prompt “Sam and Martha during the Year.” Includes small references to other fandoms. One’s really obvious, the other is less so if you aren’t familiar with the fandom.

Sam’s tracking one of Lilith’s cronies when it happens. When a rift opens in the sky and the spheres pour from it. Toclafane, he learns later. He’s been alone and cut off from the world for the past few weeks, and that is probably what saves him; he’s in the middle of nowhere.

Even so, he hears the screaming, because everyone is screaming. Sam is standing alone on the side of a road in Nebraska and the world is screaming. The sky just opened up and the screaming doesn’t stop. Sam would be completely justified in a freak out, but however much he might protest, he is a solider, and he specializes in mad things.

So Sam does what Winchesters always do when they have no idea what the fuck is happening. He gets in the car and he heads to Sioux Falls.

He avoids towns, the glow of fires promise chaos. The circuitous driving lengthens his trip considerably, but he makes it eventually.

Bobby doesn’t answer the door.

Bobby, who has called Sam every day since Dean’s death, doesn’t come to the door when he bangs and shouts and yells.

For the first time since this began, Sam lets himself wonder what the hell is happening, but he can’t wallow for long. The sheriff’s care pulls up.

The dark haired woman who steps out looks taken aback. “Who are you?”

Sam’s too tired and too confused to lie. “Sam Winchester.”

As he gets closer to the sheriff, he notices her red rimmed eyes; she’s been crying.

“They get him too?” she asks.

“I guess. What are they? What’s going on?”

The sheriff laughs, a little hysterically. “Aliens. They’re aliens. The prime minister of Britain is in league with them. And seven hours ago they killed one tenth of the population, including my husband, and apparently the one person I thought maybe might know something about this.”

And yeah, Sam had already come to that conclusion himself, but hearing someone else say it… He’s well and truly alone as the world ends. Dean’s gone. Ruby’s gone. Bobby’s—

“I’m not dead; I was looking for something.”

Sam turns to see Bobby, decidedly not dead, standing on his porch. He glances at the sky, which is clear, for the moment.

“You’d better come inside.”

Sam and the sheriff follow him inside. The kitchen table is covered in papers, which is normal. They mostly look like military documents, which is not.

“You figured the loner drunk’s probably also an alien conspiracy theorist, Sheriff Mills?” Bobby asks.

“Looks like I was right.”

“What the hell happened to ‘I’ve never come across anything about abductions?’” Sam demands. “You lied to us?”

Bobby shrugs. “You obviously weren’t dealing with actual aliens, and I said I didn’t have evidence of abductions, not aliens in general.”

The sheriff shifts aimlessly through the papers. “Where are these from?”

“Thing called UNIT, mostly. A couple are from this British institute called Torchwood. There’s nothing I can find about anything called Toclafane, but you remember how Saxon was calling himself ‘Master’? There are references to that, usually with someone called the Doctor.”

“What are they?” Sam asks.

“Something called a Time Lord. They’re time travelers.”

They spend the day sifting through Bobby’s papers because what else can they do?

Sheriff Mills tells them the state’s declared martial law, and she’s ordered people to stay indoors, but it’s not like walls mean anything to the Toclafane.

The files have little in the way of useful information. The Master reads like a criminal madman, often out for universal destruction or domination, but every time he’s stopped by the mysterious Doctor. So where is he now?

Days pass, and Sam doesn’t feel any less lost. Sheriff Mills has her job, and she’s doing what she can to keep her town safe. Bobby spends a lot of time on the phones, trying to marshal his contacts into something resembling an organized resistance until the Toclafane start interfering with the lines and satellites. But Sam has nothing.

After the phones go, Bobby starts trying to get a radio up.

“The last anyone heard from Jo Harvelle, she was in Virginia,” he says one day, out of nowhere.

Sam looks up from a stack of Torchwood files. “So?”

“So you’re going stir-crazy here. Go out and find her.”

Sam doesn’t need to be told twice.

The crackdowns and organizations have already begun. Before Sam leaves, he spends a day forging as convincing a medic badge as he can, which should get him through checkpoints. He’ll just hope no one checks to see if he’s carrying medical supplies.

As it turns out, he need not have worried. Although the Toclafane have the population cowed, getting organized takes time. Sam’s credentials look legitimate enough, so he isn’t bothered.

There’s a curfew in place, which lengthens Sam’s travel time considerably. The first few evenings he’s able to charm his way into homes for the night. He tells them he’s trying to find his sister.

By the time he reaches Ohio, the Toclafane have started moving people into barracks, and he flashes his credentials to get a place for the night.

The people he meets are confused and scared. Sam wants nothing more than to offer some comfort, to tell them they can fight this, and that everything will be all right. There are rumors around the cramped quarters of small pockets of resistance. It seems some of Bobby’s calls have paid off.

In Pennsylvania, he misjudges the time, and finds himself stranded in the middle of nowhere as the sun sets. Sam pulls off the road and sets about gathering foliage to cover the car. He steps back to survey his work, and thinks this might not have been his best idea. 

He’s going to be caught. Sam Winchester, the boy with the demon blood, isn’t going to go out in a battle against the forces of Hell or Darkness, like one might expect. He’s going to be killed on the side of the road by bizarre, sing-song speaking, sphere shaped aliens, because he’s an idiot. Dean would be so disappointed.

There’s a rustle behind him. Sam turns, pulling out a gun. He’s not sure it’ll do any good, but he’ll go out fighting, dammit.

Instead he comes face to face with Jo Harvelle, who looks just as surprised to see him as he feels to see her.

“Guns don’t work,” she says, recovering quickly.

“I was looking for you,” Sam says.

Jo grins. “Well, that’s sweet, but it looks like you’re the one in need of rescuing.”

She jerks her head, indicating that he should follow. Sam starts to, but he pauses to look back at the Impala. It’s impractical, he knows, but he doesn’t want to abandon her here.

Jo looks back, and she seems to understand.

“We can come back for her in the morning.”

Feeling less like he’s losing one of the last connections he has to his brother, Sam follows Jo through the trees and underbrush. Eventually, they come to a small clearing. It’s filled by a small group of people and a few tents.

Before they get too far into the camp, they’re stopped by a short man.

“Finding stragglers again, Jo?” he asks.

“This one’s Sam Winchester,” she says. “He’s a friend of mine.”

“Good to meet you, Sam. I’m Mark.” He offers his hand, which Sam shakes. “If you have half the skills Jo does, we’re glad to have you.”

Jo and Mark lead him around the camp. It’s a strange mix of paranoid conspiracy theorists, hunters, and a few people who were just out away from civilization when the Toclafane descended. Not so much a resistance as a group of people avoiding the Toclafane, but they’re trying to get organized.

Over the next month, they gather more people as they move from place to place. They have a few trucks, but the Impala’s the only car with much room for passengers, so Sam often finds himself watching over the few children and elderly they have who can’t walk as far in a day.

It’s when they begin running small sabotage mission that they first here the whispers about Martha Jones, the woman who escaped the Valiant.

As time passes, the rumors grow. Martha Jones, the woman who is walking the world. Martha Jones, the woman who will kill the Master. Martha Jones, the woman who will save them all.

They’re camped a short way from the Carolina coast, and Mark is struggling to make a radio work. He pushes it away in frustration, but suddenly, it starts crackling, as if it’s managed to pick something up.

“Is anyone receiving this? If you’re hearing me, let me know,” says the accented voice of a woman.

Mark stares at the radio, and people come rushing from all over the camp.

“We can here you,” Jo says.

The radio crackles again. “Americans? Good. My name is Hana Gitelman, and I’m transmitting from a ship approaching the east coast just south of Charleston.”

Another voice joins her, still female, but definitely British. “We need people who can help us get to the west coast.”

Whispers flutter through the crowd. Could it be? Could this be the much discussed Martha Jones?

“We’re nearby,” Jo says. “We can meet you.”

“Tomorrow at 1800 hours?” Gitelman asks.

“We’ll be there.”

She gives them the coordinates and the connection shuts off, and the camp becomes a flurry of action as people begin to pack up. If they’re to make it in time, they’ll need to leave soon.

They approach the location with an hour to spare. It’s decided that the entire group will not be at the shore in case it is trap. Sam, Jo, and Amber, one of three nurses in the group, will meet them first.

The three of them wait silently on the shore, not wanting to speculate or get their hopes too high.

“There!” Amber says, pointing into the distance.

Sam squints, and he can make out a small craft approaching them. Incredibly small, he can’t believe they crossed an ocean in it.

Whoever’s piloting it runs it aground. Sam supposes no one is likely to need it again anyway.

Three figures, a man and two women, jump out of it, and Sam, Jo, and Amber approach them.

“Hana Gitelman?” Jo asks when they get closer.

The taller, paler woman nods. “You’re the one I spoke to yesterday?”

Jo nods. “Jo Harvelle. This is Sam Winchester and Amber Rosen.”

“We’re glad you got our message,” the man says. “I was worried we’d be wandering around America ourselves.”

“John’s a cynic,” the other woman, the British woman, the one who might be Martha Jones, says.

“John’s a realist,” he mutters. “Sorry, John Watson, good to meet you all.”

“And I’m Martha Jones.”

“Heard a lot about you, Jones,” Jo says. “Our group is camp a little ways away; follow us.”

Amber and Jo lead the way, while Sam hangs back with the newcomers. 

“You came across the Atlantic in that boat? And how’d you get the radio to work?” he asks,

Hana smiles. “I’m very good with technology.”

He holds in the rest of his questions until they get back to camp. John and Hana share their stories first. John met Martha in Afghanistan, where he was a doctor in the British army. Hana joined them when they passed through Israel. She doesn’t say so, but Sam suspects she’s some kind of Special Forces.

A hush falls over the camp as Hana finishes speaking. Everyone stares intently at Martha as she stands and looks around at them.

“I know there have been a lot of rumors going around about me,” she begins. “And a lot of them are true. I am trying to defeat the Master. But I’m not the one you should know about, or even the one who’s really going to do it. See, I was traveling with this man called the Doctor, and he’s brilliant. He saves people every day, and most of the time they don’t even know. And he can save us from the Master, but he needs as much help as he can get.”

She explains her plan to them, and Sam has to say, it’s crazy. Absolutely crazy, but what else can they do but believe? Especially with the way Martha talks about the Doctor. Her adoration is so earnest that she has to be believed. 

“What can we do to help?” Mark asks when she finishes.

“I need to get to the west coast. Hana has a contact that can get me to Japan. And I need you all to spread the message about the Doctor. Tell as many people as you can; tell them to tell people.”

“I can take you,” Sam speaks up.

Even with the camp, he’s still felt directionless. This is something tangible he can do; growing up on the road gave him a good knowledge of the country.  
Martha smiles at him, and he feels a small twinge of resentment towards the Doctor. He’s barely known her for two hours, but he already wishes some of that adoration could be directed at him.

They leave at dawn, Hana and John staying behind to help spread the story of the Doctor. The first few hours are silent as they try and feel each other else. Martha decides the hell with it first.

“Who’d you lose?” she asks. 

“What makes you think I’ve lost someone?” he says, but he knows he’s clenched his hands tighter on the wheel.

“You’ve got the look, and most people have.”

He shakes his head. “It’s not what you think. It wasn’t the Toclafane that killed my brother.”

“What was it?” she presses. 

Sam thinks she’d believe him, but with so much darkness around them, he can’t bring himself to add to hers.

“He sacrificed himself to save me.”

Clearly, she wasn’t expected that, because she mutters an apology and looks away. Sam feels a little guilty, but he would really rather not talk about it.

Each night, they stop in overcrowded barracks, and Sam watches as Martha lights up people’s faces with hope. She talks about her adventures with the Doctor, and how they can help him defeat the Master. And every night, he gets a little more jealous.

Because he’s growing very attached to Martha. He knows it makes no sense. Her relationship with the Doctor is obvious, and she’ll leave once they cross the country. 

One night, out in the desert, far from any population, they lie side by side on the hood of the Impala and watch the stars. It’s so quiet Sam can almost forget everything that’s happening.

Martha points out different star systems she’s visited with the Doctor, and Sam can’t hold it in any longer.

“He’s a lucky guy, your Doctor.”

“Why?”

“Any guy would be lucky to have you.”

Martha laughs, but it’s a little sad. “We’re not like that. I mean, I wanted us to be, but we never will. There was this girl he was traveling with before me, and I don’t think he’ll ever get over her.”

Something suspiciously like happiness swells in Sam’s chest as he edges closer towards her. 

“His loss,” he says, leaning over her body to kiss her.

The kiss is quick; barely a brush of lips and Sam pulls back quickly to make sure it’s okay.

“It is, isn’t it?” Martha agrees before pushing herself up to reconnect their mouths.

They spend the night wrapped up in each other, exchanging kisses until they drift off into sleep. When Sam wakes, Martha is curled up against him. For the first time since losing Dean, he starts to think maybe he might someday be okay again.

The drives are much more talkative now. Martha tells him about studying medicine; Sam tells her about his time at Stanford. When they start talking about families, Sam carefully cherry picks his stories to avoid anything involving the supernatural.

They’ve been taking a looping path to California, so that Martha can meet as many people as possible, but they do eventually get there. Martha radios Hana, who radios her contact. She tells Martha he’ll be there any minute.

Sam and Martha glance awkwardly at each other, neither quite sure what to do.

“I might be in love with you,” Martha blurts out, just as Sam says, “I need to tell you something.”

She blushes furiously, but says, “What is it?”

Sam’s made up his mind; if this is the last he ever sees of her, he wants her to know. “I hunt monsters. Ghosts and demons, that sort of thing.”

Martha doesn’t laugh or even look skeptical, but Sam supposes she’s seen enough impossible things.

“That’s what killed your brother, isn’t it?” she asks.

Sam nods, and she steps closer, lightly touching his arm.

“I’m sorry.”

Sam’s not sure who moves first, but they’re kissing each other fiercely. Martha strains to keep herself on tiptoe, even with Sam bending down, so he lifts her up, and her legs wrap around him.

“I’ll miss you,” he gasps, in between hard presses of lips and brushes of tongue.

“I wish you could come,” she says.

“Martha Jones?” asks a third voice, embarrassed.

They break apart to see a small Japanese man has joined them.

“That’s me,” Martha says, blushing slightly. “You’re Hana’s contact? Hiro?”

He nods. “Follow me, please.”

He disappears over a ridge. Martha turns back to Sam.

“I have to go.”

“I’ll keep telling people about you and the Doctor and the plan. Be careful.” His words speed up, tumbling out of his mouth in a rush. “I think I might love you too, and I didn’t think that was possible after everything I’ve been through and I don’t want you to go and just…”

He stops. Taking a deep breath, he continues more slowly.

“Come and find me when you fix everything, okay?”

Martha nods, blinking rapidly to keep from crying. “Yeah.”

Sam watches as she walks away, and he stays standing there for a very long time before returning to the Impala. He’s got work to do.

When spring finally comes, on the day Martha had told him, Sam thinks about the Doctor, but he thinks about Martha too. About how she was brave and shining and brilliant. About how much he hopes she comes back to him.

And then everything goes blank and Sam is standing in a field somewhere in Nebraska tracking a demon, with the feeling he’s forgotten something important.

Far away, on board the Valiant, Martha thinks about a broken young man in America, and hopes he’s strong enough to fix himself without her. But even if he isn’t, she’ll find him. She promised she would.


End file.
